Man charged with domestic assault also accused of steroid possession
WOONSOCKET – Police said a man was arrested for possession of steroids Sunday hours after he choked his girlfriend during an argument about breaking off their relationship.
Matthew Scott Londergan, 29, of 10 Grand St., was charged with one count each of possession of a controlled substance and domestic assault by strangulation, both felonies.
Police said the victim was a 29-year-old woman who was visibly shaken when she arrived at police headquarters to report the crime about 4 p.m. Sunday.
The woman was “crying the whole time she was talking to me and expressed that she was in such fear when Matthew had his hand over her nose and mouth making it so she can not breathe,” Patrol Officer Corey R. Johnson report- ed.
The woman told the officer that shortly before she came to police headquarters, Londergan told her he wanted to break up with her and the two got into a heated argument. He allegedly put her in a choke hold, threw her to the floor and then covered her nose and mouth with his hand. She said she kicked several times until Londergan released his grip. The two had been dating for five months and lived together most of the time, a police report says.
When she told him she was going to report him to the police, Londergan allegedly replied, “If you care about me you will not do that to me.”
Police found Londergan in his third-floor apartment a little more than three hours later.
During a “protective sweep” of his home, Patrolman Travis J. Young said, he located in plain view two bottles of steroids on a shelf in an area adjacent to the bedroom. Next to the steroids was a plastic bag filled with hypodermic syringes.
Londergan was taken into custody without incident and transported to police headquarters for booking.
Following a preliminary appearance Monday in Sixth District Court, Londergan was released on $5,000 personal recognizance pending another hearing on May 24.
According to the judiciary’s web site, he has no prior criminal history in Rhode Island.